The Perfect 1-day London Itinerary for Families (That Actually Works): North Greenwich and the Royal Docks Edition

We, as anyone, are also guilty of heading to places in London that are familiar. We have our favourite parks, our favourite London playgrounds and museums and planning a day out is really easy when we return to what’s familiar. Why fix something that’s not broken, right? But sometimes, I crave discovering something new. A new London neighbourhood. An area that’s not super crowded, a new beach. Yes, a beach in London. We all wanted water during the heatwave, so this was a perfect discovery.

North Greenwich

Lesser known than its more popular sibling Greenwich, north Greenwich lies on top of the peninsula sticking into the Thames. It can be reached by the Jubilee line, Thames Clippers or the unusual IFS Cable Car from the Royal Docks.

Our day started at the O2, also known as Millennium Dome. It was opened in 1999 and built to house an exhibition to celebrate the new millennia. It’s a fascinating building, even though people don’t give it much thought. It skirts the prime meridian and is the world’s largest dome. There’s references to the calendar, which are pretty clever. The diameter is 365 meters, same as days of the year. The canopy rises 52 metres high at the highest point, same as the number of weeks in a year. And there are 12 supporting columns, each reaching a 100 metres into the air, same as months in a year. But we didn’t come here to admire the architecture even though our kids find a fact or two interesting. Millennium Dome has been known as The O2 since 2005 and is now home to a concert venue, the O2 arena, outlet shopping, restaurants and cafes and a number of activity spaces, perfect for a whole family. Especially when you try to escape rain in London.

The O2

We started exploring the space by walking around before heading to Oxygen Active Play, where we had a family pass to enjoy an hour of trampoline fun. There are multiple types of tickets available, some include trampolines only, some include a Go Ape style climbing above and you can also choose different duration. There’s a cafe on site, where parents can relax with a cup of coffee if they prefer to sit and wait while the kids jump around. The venue also has a soft play for toddlers and younger children.

If trampolining isn’t your cup of tea, there’s Hollywood Bowl where you can try your hand at bowling, Boom Battle Bar with various social and team building activities as well as my daughter’s favourite Clip ‘n Climb, where you can introduce children to climbing through various fun activities.

My two decided to use VR to get closer to the dinosaurs, yes we’re still firmly in the dinosaur loving era,which was £15 for 2 rides. It was fun watching the kids pulling their legs inside the seat when dinosaurs were snapping at them.

For hungry tummies, there’s a good selection of restaurants inside the O2 as well as outside. We let daddy choose and we ended up at Scarlet Rasoi, home of the Asian cuisine at the O2. They have kids’ meals, which on the day of our visit was a chicken in mint sauce wrapped in a roti, served with chips.

After we were full, we wandered around the shops, mostly because I needed sandals, and then we headed outside to cross the river in style.

Around the O2 and Beyond

Depending on how you want to spend the day, there’s a few options. My preferred one is a nice long walk by the river, all the way to Woolwich Foot Tunnel, where you can cross to the north bank and return towards the west. On the way, there’s plenty to see starting at Quantum Cloud sculpture by Antony Gormley. It stands at 30metres high and is part of the Line, London’s first contemporary art walk. You can follow Olympian Way to the left of the statue all the way to Cuty Sark and the Greenwich Foot Tunnel when you want a better know area. But if you’re up for exploring, head right towards Damien Hirst’s Hydra and Kali sculpture and on towards the Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park, which is perfect for bird watching.

Continue east and you’ll reach the Thames Barrier. There’s even a tiny playground where kids can enjoy going down the slide while you observe this magnificent flood prevention structure. It’s one of the largest movable flood barriers in the world and if you want to see it close, there’s a schedule online as the barrier needs to be closed monthly for maintenance.

As you near the Woolwich Foot Tunnel, you come across the Woolwich Gun Battery built in 1847.

The walk here is a stark reminder of London’s naval past and has a strong industrial and dockyards feel. Walk through the Woolwich Foot Tunnel and head west. In about 1.5 miles you reach Thames Barrier Park just past the London City Airport. Continue to the Royal Docks where this unusual walk finishes.

The Royal Docks

Perfect with children who spent a few hours at the O2. This is the location of the new City Hall and the Thames beach, better known as the Dock Beach. It’s a small section of the river that is safe to swim and has lifeguards on hand. Water is not deep, so it’s perfect for children and there’s a small section where you can swim in a lane. It’s completely free, however, swimming is timed and depends on a wristband you get, so check the schedule. We arrived and signed in only to be told 10 minutes later our session was over. This means you queue up again to get a new wristband. There’s 2 changing rooms and a sandpit on site. It can get a bit busy on hot days as you can imagine.

IFS Cable Car

If you prefer to skip the 6 mile walk, hop on the cable car across the Thames that takes you from the O2 to the Royal Dock in a few minutes. There’s a variety of experiences to book online or just a single or return trip. As you “fly” 90 metres above the Thames, there’s perfect views of the capital. Spot St Paul’s Cathedral, Thames Barrier, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and more. Our kids enjoyed the experience of a cable car without having to carry skis 😀

Would you spend a day in North Greenwich and Woolwich?